In 1653, the Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty bestowed a golden edict and a golden seal upon the fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, officially recognizing the title "Dalai Lama".

This episode of "Potala Palace" centers on the 17th-century reconstruction of the complex's White Palace, which initially took tens of thousands of craftsmen eight years to build on Red Hill in Lhasa.

After the death of the fifth Dalai Lama, Depa Sangye Gyatso then oversaw construction of the Red Palace. With its gilded copper roofs, exquisite murals and richly decorated ceremonial halls, Potala Palace assumed the architectural form that endures to day.